Individual Progress in International Law: Considering Amnesty

10.1163/ej.9789004165717.i-912.92

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Chapter Summary

.In his book Progress in International Organization, Harvard Professor Manley O. Hudson argued for a new world order. This chapter confines itself to addressing the problem of amnesties for the commission of jus cogens crimes - crimes covered by peremptory norms of international law - which may not be set aside by conflicting municipal laws. In the first,Prosecutor v. Furundzija,the ICTY held that not only was the prohibition on torture jus cogens, but also that any amnesty therefore would be inconsistent with international law. Moreover, the Trial Chamber noted that even in the light of an amnesty, a prosecution could be instituted either before a foreign court, an international tribunal, or in their own country under a subsequent regime. Although Furundzija only addressed the issue of amnesty in passing, the question was squarely presented to the Special Court for Sierra Leone.